Shuttle Pod - The TrekMovie.com Podcast

How well do you know the Shuttle Pod Crew? For that matter, how well do you know your Trekkie friends? Think you could guess their top three favorite characters in all of the Star Trek franchise? This week, Kayla, Brian, and Jared sit down to discuss their top three, but with a fun twist. They first have to try and guess each others’.

Kayla, Jared, and returning host John Duchak discuss one of their favorite episodes of Star Trek — The Next Generation’s season 4 episode “The Drumhead” — in the context of how Star Trek has done social commentary. And, importantly, Kayla invites you to join her in never again being able to unsee the fact that the interrogation chair is actually a mediocre 1990’s office chair, complete with caster wheels, arm rests, and those little levers to adjust the height. So, go ahead and sit down in an office chair while we probe into the ancestral origins of your great-great-great-granduncle to decide whether or not you are allowed to hang out with us.

Brian and Kayla sat down with filmmakers David Zappone and Joe Kornbrodt who, through their production company 455 Films have brought eight Star Trek documentaries into the world. Zappone, who runs the company, started working with William Shatner and produced William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet in 2009. The pair worked so well together that the rest, as they say, is history. The company’s latest product is a special 4- or 5-disc set (depending on which set you buy), The Captains Collection, which Brian reviewed before our chat. We spoke with David and Joe on the new box set and much, much more including What We Left Behind, the Deep Space Nine documentary that debuted in 2018, plans for another DS9 doc that is planned, and their work on the currently in production documentary on Star Trek: Voyager. The Captain’s Collection Box Set Definitely check out Brian’s thorough review of the set, which includes: The Captains The Captains Close-up Chaos On The Bridge Get A Life! Extended interviews and William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet (5-disc Special Edition set only) You can grab the 4-disc set for $42.51 on Amazon and the 5-disc Special Edition, which retails exclusively through Shout Factory, for $74.98.

Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ are often lumped together. The crew discusses how season 2 is quite a different show than the first. Season 2 took risks with the introduction of Kate Pulaski, and because they were still finding their footing the writers gave us a variety of styles of stories. Season 2 also introduced many mainstays for the series, including: Guinan, the weekly poker game, The Borg, Riker’s beard, plus Worf and Geordi get their key positions in the senior staff.

The full compliment of the Shuttle Pod crew hunker down by the campfire and discuss the cooky, the spooky, the disturbing, and the downright scary episodes of Star Trek. Listen along as Brian, Jared, Kayla, and Matt pick episodes from all over the franchise, creating a non-exhaustive list (of course there’s too many to talk about in just one episode!) of fun frights for your All Hallows’ Eve viewing pleasure.

Using Noah Hawley’s recent comments about making a smaller budget Star Trek movie as a springboard, Brian, Jared, and Matt discuss the business of making movies. The podcasters discuss where Trek fits into the current business models, and the pressures to make Star Trek films a worldwide success.

Watch along as the crew discuss this rather, erm, unique episode.

Kayla, Jared, and Laurie celebrate Star Trek: Voyager’s 25th anniversary by choosing two standout episodes, one from each category: pre- and post-arrival of Seven of Nine. They also discuss some of the early plans for the series that never happened, and look at its overall legacy.

Kayla, Jared, and Matt sit down and chat about episodes of the Star Trek franchise that they’ll watch again and again, episodes that they’ll watch if they’re having a bad day. Their “comfort food” of Trek if you will. Each podcaster selected two episodes to discuss. Listen along to hear their picks and why they like them.

Brian, Kayla, and Matt catch up about the latest goings on with the CBS Star Trek Universe — including ‘Discovery’ season 3, ‘Picard’ season 2, and what 2021 will probably look like for Trek content. Then the crew review “Second Contact” the first episode of the highly anticipated animated comedy ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks.’ And they give their (spoiler free) impressions of the next three episodes.